The anaerobic digestion industry has called for swift action to overcome uncertainty and assist the on-farm energy sector in boosting the economy.
The Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) said the AD sector boosts the economy, creates jobs and ensures security of energy supply.
AD is seen as an environmentally friendly, cost-effective solution to dealing with “waste”.
Instead of burning it, or sending it to landfill, AD plants turn that waste into 30% of the UK’s household gas or electricity demand.
ADBA says this means less waste to landfill, stable energy prices, and fewer carbon dioxide emissions – with 35,000 potential rural jobs too.
'Significant part'
Commenting on the result, Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of ADBA said: “Now it is time to focus on the policies we need to grow our economy and meet our environmental commitments, and AD can and should play a significant part in these plans.
“This makes sense from an environmental and economic point of view but also in terms of security of supply - the current problems in Qatar, a key supplier for our gas imports, shows the importance of a reliable source of British green gas.”
ADBA is calling for the new Government to re-introduce the legislation on the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and commit to increasing the RHI budget.
The organisation is calling for a commitment to legislation introducing separate food waste collections in England, to divert waste away from landfill, helping meet carbon commitments.
And it is calling for support for UK farmers by restoring viable tariffs to the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme and remove the AD capacity cap.
